Postgame Quotes - February 5, 2014

Pistons at Magic

(On what went wrong in the 2nd quarter): “The guys out on the floor, to me it’s like, we turn the ball over, we didn’t get back. Our pick and roll defense was not good. It was just a lot of things that allowed them to build a little lead in the 2nd quarter. And I thought we could have played a lot better in that 2nd quarter.”

(On whether he and Will Bynum had words: “We did. The heat of the game.”

(On Will Bynum not playing after they had words): “Well, that was my choice, but it was in the heat of the game.

(On whether he’s talked to Will Bynum after the game; halftime): “The game was just over. Have I had a chance to talk to him? The game was just over. I had a team to coach at halftime, so I wasn’t worried about Will Bynum at halftime.”

(On whether it’s something he needs to talk out with Will Bynum): “We’ll discuss whatever we need to discuss, but we can talk about the game. The game was more important than me and Will (Bynum) as far as I’m concerned. The things we didn’t do, allowed us to get beat like that.”

(On Orlando’s rebounding): Yes, that was a big key tonight. The way they rebounded the ball, they kept balls alive. The offensive rebounds, the defensive rebounds, they did a lot of things well particularly inside the paint. And what was discouraging is that they continued to lay the ball in, particularly in the 1st half they got layup after layup. And that was the difference in the way they got a cushion to win the game.”

(On what stemmed from confrontation with Will Bynum): “It’s a part of the game. We had a few words and we moved on. That’s it. There’s nothing to elaborate on. We had a few words and we moved on. It’s not the first time I’ve had words with a player, so it’s probably not going to be the last.”

(On Turnovers): “It’s been a problem. No question, it’s been a problem where we have those turnovers that result into fast breaks for the other team and it’s something that we have to take care of. Because turnovers like in the Miami game, turnovers were a big part of that loss and tonight turnovers were another big part of it.”

(On why Glen Davis was able to score offensively inside):
“No, he had a good night, but it was also that we could be better defensively on the inside. I thought our attention to detail on the inside, guarding guys on the inside, could have been a lot better but it didn’t just start on the inside it was on the perimeter. We’ve been talking about it for a while, being able to guard the ball on the perimeter and we weren’t able to do that again tonight. And they broke us down and they got inside for layups.”

“We have to learn from our mistakes. We have to watch film tomorrow and see where things went wrong. We already know what we did so we have to try and nip some of the bad habits that we have in the bud and move forward.”

“We make silly turnovers down the stretch of the game. It is a domino effect. When one thing happens on one side of the floor, it trickles over to the other side.”

“It is tough. I can’t stand losing. I hate it with a passion but you have to stay positive and can’t let it get to us and try and get better each and every day.”

“There were a lot of miscommunications on the defensive end. They got a good running going and it was tough for us to get back.”

“We just didn’t play good basketball tonight. We turned the ball over. We never really got into a rhythm playing out there. Our effort was poor.”

“The second quarter hurt us. We weren’t able to bounce back. The turnovers hurt us the most.”

“There were some changes in the lineup tonight so whether it was something that we were not used to, it could have been a factor. We have played long enough with each other where we should be able to understand where guys are and play well as a team.”

(on Magic bench production) “Harkless and O’Quinn did impact the game. They played well and basically we had no answer tonight. Orlando played well enough to win and we were not able to put forth a big enough effort to counter act their energy and the way they were playing.”

(On weathering the Pistons' run): “It was great to continue for that group that was out there to kind of weather that storm a little bit, to be able to figure it out and find a way and they did, one person stepped up and everyone else kind of hopped on board after that. And so I just think overall to keep that group out there and for them to figure it out was good for us.”

(On bringing the starters back in):
“You know philosophically my approach to basketball, it’s a team sport and everyone has to do their part on every night and so we’re going to count on these guys, whether or not you start or come off the bench to do your part, so they were going to stay in and figure it out. When I was going to pull the plug, I’m not sure, but the good thing is they figured it out.”

(On the second quarter): “I think a few things, it started with us getting stops. That was the one thing and then we were able to get out in transition and get some easy buckets and I just think over the course of the night the way we passed the ball was impressive tonight and it was fun to watch.”

(On Kyle O'Quinn): “I told him the one thing that a player wants is for his coach to trust him and that works both ways. I need to trust him, and so he’s gained the trust of the coaching staff, whether that’s watching extra film, doing extra work afterwards, most importantly he’s consistently putting games together where he’s doing the right thing over and over again, so that’s progress.”

(On the Magic's physicality): “Well, the beginning of the game I think we gave up two offensive rebounds which led to scores for them, so the beginning of the game we weren’t happy as a group. I’d say across the board for the night I think we outrebounded them and even had more offensive rebounds. So, I was impressed with just our approach of fighting bodies tonight. You could see physically us putting bodies on bodies and boxing people out tonight.”

(On Victor Oladipo): “He’s going to figure it out. That’s the one thing that I give him a lot of credit. We talked about some of the shots that he had taken the last two games where the opponents wanted him to take those shots. And so that’s how you figure out this league, you want to take the shot that’s best for your team. So, tonight he pulls up and makes a jumper, next two possessions after that he gets to the rim. So, having that balance and knowing when to do it, he’ll continue to get better and better at it.”

(On making adjustments to his game): “I was shooting the shots I could make. Today I made them and the past two games I didn’t make them. I’ve just got to continue to just keep shooting with confidence and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

(On Kyle O’Quinn providing a spark): “It was crazy. He played great today, absolutely amazing today. When he’s blocking shots and he’s still running the floor, beating everybody down the floor, it’s crazy energy and we definitely feed off of that.”

(On remembering the last matchup versus the Pistons): “I know I did because I did not have a good showing. I just wanted to come out here and play strong and not only that game, I didn’t have a good showing in the past two games. So I just wanted to come out and definitely let my defense create for my offense and definitely play at a high level. I think I did a good job of that tonight and I just have to be consistent with that now.”

(On Kyle O’Quinn’s leadership): “Now that he’s playing a lot more, he’s got a lot more confidence and we have confidence in him. We trust him out there and he plays hard, when he’s talking like that, and he’s active. He’s definitely a huge spark for us.”

(On his high energy effort): “The second unit, we pull for each other. You just do whatever. I can’t even explain what that moment was. We just pull for each other and I saw Vic (Oladipo) running and so I started running too.”

(On the impact of the second unit in games): “It lets us know that he trusts us a little bit and we build his trust when we’re all out there together. He knows that we might be able to play against the first unit guys from other teams. If things get bad then he puts the other guys back in and we handled our business tonight.”

(On his increased role): “It means a lot because you’re not looking over your shoulder as much. You just going out there and playing. I’m going out there with four guys that are just playing and if you’re the only one nervous out there that’s looking over your shoulder you might mess up the unit. The little trust that he (Jacque Vaughn) has in me I appreciate that and I just want to keep moving forward.”